The world is producing about 300 million tonnes of plastic waste yearly. 50% of all plastic produced is fashioned to be used just once, like plastic water bottles, cutlery(餐具)and bags. These items take from 20 to 500 years to break down, causing harm to wildlife and pollution in the environment.
According to The Guardian, New Zealand will ban plastic straws and plastic materials for packaging drinks. In spite of the reputation of New Zealand as one of the world's greenest countries, it has faced some challenges managing plastic waste, bringing about problems in the fight against climate change. Last year, a report from the government discovered that almost 60% of the rivers in the country were polluted.
While New Zealand in 2019 had already prohibited the use of plastic bags, this 2021 action will expand the prohibition of single-use plastics to specific items that usually end up in landfills and pollute soil, waterways, and the ocean. The government also made an announcement of a commitment of about $50 million to the Plastics Innovation Fund to assist businesses to discover a substitute for plastic packaging.
New Zealand's environment minister, David Parker, said this new policy will get rid of over 2 billion single-use plastic items every year. And removing irrelevant and harmful plastics will aid in reducing waste to landfill, improve the recycling system of the country, and encourage alternatives that can be reusable or environmentally responsible.
New Zealand is joining a large number of countries that have taken action to stop plastic from adding to environmental degradation(恶化). In 2020, England placed a ban on plastic straws, cotton buds and drink stirrers to check the use of some single-use plastics. Recently New South Wales and Western Australia -two states in Australia, announced plans to discontinue dependence on plastic and to prohibit harmful items by the end of 2022.
While most businesses and environmentalists are praising the efforts of the country to lessen the use of plastic, some people underlined that more things should be done before the correction of New Zealand's waste problem can happen, and the government should create a strategy to make the building and demolition industries more aware of the environment. Those industries are responsible for about 50% of landfill waste.
